Looking Back

"The Sphinx"
Volume XLV
Number Three
May, 1946

From the Article "Cartooning and Magic"
By William Tefft Schwarz





Illustrations are also by W.T. Schwarz.

Max Andrews on The Future of Magic

Max Andrews was the editor of "The Magic Magazine" published in England. he wrote these words:
----
Recent travels to Holland, Switzerland and various English cities have given me added proof that the newer generation of magicians is dead keen to make our art more lively and keep it in line with the modern outlook. Everywhere I have been, I have seen evidence of the move to give old tricks a new angle and to introduce "the latest".

Why not? nothing has done so much to keep magic a subsidiary entertainment than a lack of enterprise, which leads to audiences saying (if only to themselves) "the usual tricks, you know". Yet it is astonishing, how the most "usual" things can be given a new appeal; either by way of presentation or by adroit twists that lift a show on to a new plane.

That is one of the things we try to keep in mind in connection with MAGIC MAGAZINE. Not all brand new tricks surpass the old ones; and it is a fact that many of the standard ones are still superb. ALthough, for example, the secret of the Chinese Rings has been given away, even in the cheap-price stores, only an experienced performer can do the trick with finesse. Further the performer who presents this and other famous magical feats with polish or in a freshened form, still completely confounds the people who have only a superficial knowledge of the modus operandi.

----
(Emphasis as per original)

These words reflect the recent trends in magic, but the words were written in 1952 (September, 1952 Vol. 1 No. 6).
According to MagicPedia: The Magic Magazine was published from 1952 to 1956 and had 54 issues.

Looking Back

The year is 1928, London.

Number 3, Volume 2 of Edward Bagshawe's Magical Journal.




Included:

Adverts for:

"Radiana" (A mentally selected card vanishes from a full deck, and reappears to be examined) "Four Shillings, Post Free
"Cigarette Magic & Manipulation" By Dev. Deveen. Price 4s. 6d., postage 2d.
"Original Spiritualistic Effects" By Edward Bagshawe. Part Four.- "Novel MYsteries." Price 3s., postage 2d.
"The Super Self Shifting Pack" (A selected card is placed in the middle of the deck, without any movement the card is found on the top of the pack) Two Shillings and Sixpence, post free.
"Syko, The Insolvable" Price 6s. 6d., post paid.

Tricks:

"The Sympathetic Number." By F.R. Squire
"Simplified Psychic Writing" By S.H. Sharpe
"A Card Sleight" By F. Edward Cook.

Jottings:

"A lot of people talk to themselves, but the ventriloquist is the only man who can make a living that way."
"To-day's biscuit goes to- the magical author who said if his first publication: "Undoubtedly the best book I have ever written.""
"The Great Bunco cables us that he has just had a very interesting chat with the Prince of Wales. Up to the present, the Prince of Wales has not cabled that he has had an interesting chat with the Great Bunco."

(All text Copyright original author, reproduced for posterity.)

Genii Covers- April. The Fifties.

1952 Vol 16 #8

Cover: The Kirkhoms
Back Ad: Max Holden Magic Shops



1953 Vol 17 #8
50 Cents.
Cover: Jay Plamer & Doreen (America's Great Comdey Pair)
Back Ad: Max Holden Magic Shops



1954 Vol 18 #8
50 Cents.
Cover: The Chaudets
Back Ad: Max Holden Magic Shops



1957 Vol 21 #8
50 Cents.
Cover: Ormond McGill (A Complete Review of His Show by Arnold Furst)
Back Ad: Max Holden Magic Shops

Genii Covers- March. The Eighties.

1980 Vol 44 #3
$1.50
Cover: Siegfried and Roy-Superstars of Magic
Back Ad: Louis Tannen, Inc.



1981 Vol 45 #3
$1.50
Cover: Special Max Maven Issue
Back Ad: Louis Tannen, Inc.



1982 Vol 46 #3
$2.00
Cover: John Calvert
Back Ad: Louis Tannen, Inc.



1983 Vol 47 #3
$2.00
Cover: Dragon Award Winners- Petrick and Mia
Back Ad: Louis Tannen, Inc.



1984 Vol 48 #3
$2.00
Cover: Manfred Thumm of The Magic Hands
Back Ad: Louis Tannen, Inc.



1986 Vol 49 #3
$2.00
Cover: The Pendragons (Special Pendragon Issue)
Back Ad: Louis Tannen, Inc.



1987 Vol 50 #9
$2.50
Cover: Lynette Chappell (Tribute to Lynette Chappell)
Back Ad: Louis Tannen, Inc.

Genii Covers- March. The Seventies.

1971 Vol 35 #7
75 cents
Cover: Mexico's Chen Kai
Back Ad: Louis Tannen, Inc.



1972 Vol 36 #3
75 cents
Cover: Shimada and Deanna
Back Ad: Louis Tannen, Inc.



1963 Vol 37 #3
1 Dollar
Cover: Sam Berland (A Special Berland Issue)
Back Ad: Louis Tannen, Inc.



1975 Vol 39 #3
1 Dollar
Cover: Loring Campbell
Back Ad: Louis Tannen, Inc.



1976 Vol 40 #3
1 Dollar
Cover: MArk and Nani Wilson ("The Magic of Mark Wilson" A Special Issue)
Back Ad: Louis Tannen, Inc.



1977 Vol 41 #3
$1.25
Cover: Tommy Windsor
Back Ad: Louis Tannen, Inc.



1978 Vol 42 #3
$1.25
Cover: Topper Martyn
Back Ad: Louis Tannen, Inc.



1979 Vol 43 #3
$1.50
Cover: Whitey Roberts
Back Ad: Louis Tannen, Inc.

Genii Covers- March. The Sixties.

1963 Vol 27 #7
50 cents
Cover: Jay Ose, R.M.
Back Ad: Louis Tannen, Inc.



1965 Vol 29 #7
60 cents
Cover: Salute to Youth (A Special Issue)
Back Ad: Louis Tannen, Inc.



1966 Vol 30 #7
60 cents
Cover: TW's GM- The Great Socar
Back Ad: Louis Tannen, Inc.



1967 Vol 31 #7
60 cents
Cover: Hawaii's Hal and Jill Clark
Back Ad: Louis Tannen, Inc.



1969 Vol 33 #7
75 cents
Cover: Clarke "The Senator" Crandall
Back Ad: Louis Tannen, Inc.

Genii Covers-March. The Fifties.

1952 Vol 16 #7
Cover: Alan Wakeling and Helen
Back Ad: Max Holden’s Magic Shops


1953 Vol. 17 #7
50 cents
Cover: Jack Swimmer
Back Ad: Max Holden’s Magic Shops


1954 Vol. 18 #7
50 cents
Cover: Dominique
Back Ad: Max Holden’s Magic Shops


1956 Vol. 20 #7
50 cents
Cover: The Kalanag Revue
Back Ad: Max Holden’s Magic Shops


1957 Vol. 21 #7
50 cents
Cover: Kodell “A Fantasy in Birds”
Back Ad: Max Holden’s Magic Shops


1958 Vol. 22 #6
60 cents
Cover: Tenkai and Okinu
Back Ad: Louis Tannen Magic Supplies


1959 Vol. 23 #7
60 cents
Cover: Johnny Platt
Back Ad: Louis Tannen Magic Supplies

Dai Vernon, The Magician and the Cardsharp

The search for the Kennedy Center Deal:

Tony Slydini, Master of Misdirection (3)

Paper Balls and Box, pure magic:

Dai Vernon, Never Worked a Day of His Life

A great story from the great Dai Vernon:

Tony Slydini, The Master of Misdirection (2)

Here is Tony Slydini performing Paper Balls Over the Head:

Dai Vernon, The Man Who Fooled Houdini

The Legendary Story of two legendary performers.






(More on Vernon Later)

Slydini, The Master of Misdirection

Tony Slydini (1901-1991)

Tony Slydini was born Quintino Marucci. Best known as a master of close-up artistry, he served as inspiration to a generation of magicians, including Doug Henning. Slydini's magic was impromptu: rather than follow a set sequence of tricks, he allowed his audience and the situation to dictate his show. Reportedly, Dick Cavett once asked Dai Vernon who could still fool him. His answer: "Nobody but Slydini".

Cardini, The Suave Deceiver

Richard "Cardini" Pitchford (1895-1973)

Richard "Cardini" Pitchford (1895-1973) was a master magician whose career spanned almost half a century. Although one of the most imitated magicians the world has ever known, his skill and talent could never be duplicated.

One of the unusual features of a Cardini performance was that he did sleight of hand wearing white gloves. In a famous routine, he appears to be tipsy and bemused as cigarettes and other items appear and disappear in his hands, acting as if he is the victim of a strange trick of nature rather than a master of magical mysteries.


The Official Cardini Webpage (mantained by decendents)

Channing Pollock, The Most Beautiful Man in the World

Channing Pollock (1926-2006)

Channing Pollock (August 16, 1926 in Sacramento, California, USA – March 18, 2006) was an American magician and film actor.
Has one of the most sophisticated and charismatic practitioners of his craft; strikingly handsome with an enigmatic stage presence, he was best known for an act in which he would elegantly produce doves out of thin air and he was often billed as "the most beautiful man in the world". He first became interested in magic at the age of 21. He trained at the Chavez School of Magic in Los Angeles, graduating in 1952. Pollock's early work as a magician was on the nightclub circuit, where his talents were enhanced by his good looks.

He died in Las Vegas from complications due to cancer. He was 79.

Al Flosso, The Coney Island Fakir

Al Flosso (1895-1976)

Born: Albert Levinson

Vaudeville-era magician, know as "The Coney Island Fakir"; he perfected the 'Misers' Dream' trick of catching coins out of thin air and dropping them in a bucket. He was later featured on early TV shows such as 'Toast of the Town', 'The Ed Sullivan Show', 'The Steve Allen Show' and 'Wonderama', among many others. In 1939 he took over the Hornmann-Martinka magic shop on 34th Street in New York City; the store that had once been owned by Harry Houdini. He ran the shop, America's oldest continuously run magic shop, until his death in 1976. At that point his son, Jackie, took over the shop.


IMDB Page

Kuda Bux, The Man with the X-Ray Eyes

Kuda Bux (Khuda Bakshh) (1906 - February 5, 1981) was an Indian mystic and magician. Seen here performing one of his most famous tricks in which he would cover his eyes with soft dough, blindfold himself, swath his entire head in strips of cloth, and yet still be able to see.Kuda Bux was the subject of a 1950 film titled Kuda Bux, Hindu Mystic, and his apparent ability to see while blindfolded with dough strongly influenced British author Roald Dahl in the short story of Henry Sugar, who was taught to develop the same powers.
Most astoundingly, observers noted that the unblindfolded Mr. Bux required reading glasses to read fine print. Whilst blindfolded Kuda Bux would read the dates on coins which are held on a spectators hand, read the fine print of a magazine, thread a needle, duplicate words he never seen written, shoot a bulls eye with a pellet gun,and many other mysteries.


Ironically, in his later life, he lost his eyesight to glaucoma.

Wikipedia Page
IMDB Page

Welcome!

Welcome to this blog.

Magic has a great history full of legends and inspiration. This blog is intended to inspire, and share the work of the legends.